Listener's Reviews

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Last Ninja 2: The Sewers - arranged by N-Trace

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

Musically, it starts out pretty awesome. Production-wise it could've used better mixing throughout. The choice of deep strings and the pounding timpani in the beginning and then just a hint of the lead here and there - perfect! In the middle it switches (or tries switching) gears (like the original SID) - and this is where it gets a bit disappointing: where is the punch, the power, the in-your-face scariness? Instead of becoming an I'll hunt you down, Last Ninja! -type threat it remains relatively mellow and dark. Great first half, fairly decent second half, but this second half is what prevents it from being my pick. Highly recommended for download, though.
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Last Ninja 2: The Final Battle - arranged by N-Trace

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

Your typical SID conversion done with the traditional synth instruments, this might even be an XM or S3M recorded into MP3. It's lacking depth, but otherwise it's a pretty solid average remix.
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Dominator - arranged by N-Trace

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

Well, it's painfully obvious that N-Trace didn't have access to better sounding equipment for his previously reviewed remixes, and although his repertoir of instruments got expanded here, it still remains an about average remix. If you want to hear unique remixes, this shouldn't be one of your choices. Solid remix, but it doesn't stand out in the crowd.
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Phantoms 2001 - arranged by danceaway offline

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

Good opening, but I can't shake the feeling that I heard the exact same riff in another SID remix before… It seems danceaway fell in love with that opening riff and he just couldn't use it enough times. Which is too bad, as it works well for an opening but it became pretty irritating pretty fast after that. In fact, I couldn't concentrate on anything else but that damn riff! Which may not have been that bad, since this tune barely hits average on my remix-o-meter… Then what bothered me was the off-key lead. Or maybe it's not off-key, but it certainly made me say Huhh? . For a dance tune it's not very dancey (and there are dance-remixes out there that are a helluva lot better), for a Phantoms remix it's rather weak. It's oh-kay, but I wouldn't recommend it.
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Cobra (Morricone Edit) - arranged by Axel Melzener

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

Now here is something that has a clear direction, makes perfect musical sense and is also very emotional! Sure, it's a cover of a cover, but a very, very well done one! And the fact that it's done in Morricone's style in an absolutely immaculate fashion - I don't think perfect even begins to describe it. Three cheers for Axel!!!
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Test Drive - arranged by DJ Tobi offline

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

Starts out with the original SID then adds drums to it, then adds more drums to it - and that's it!? Rather disappointing. I expected the tune to slowly transform into a very cool giant club mix, instead it just sits there lamely. Whoever did this wasn't thinking.
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Turrican 3 Air Combat (The Masters Duel) - arranged by Honorabili offline

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

Those super-short little sounds don't work here for the lead. Which is too bad, because otherwise it'd be a pretty good sounding tune. The main problem with them is that they make the otherwise touching melody sound extremely inhuman. Did Honorabili actually listen to this tune before converting it to MP3? …
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Aliens Droship Stage (Tropical Surfing) - arranged by Honorabili offline

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

I can kinda see how this tune would lend itself to a Hawaiian makeover, but not this way.
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Defender of the Crown Swordfight (Mysticism mix) - arranged by Honorabili offline

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

This could've been pretty interesting, but it's poorly done and is too short. Why do some people release half-done tunes? …
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Pole Position : Acid Drive - arranged by dor-x offline

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

WTF is this? And what does it have to do with Pole Position? Utter crap.
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Frogger (Sickbag mix) - arranged by DJ ThumpHeadAche

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

Ha-ha!!! This is fun-ny! The hopping sounds, the laughing clown, the thumping base drum - this is hilarious!
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Slamball - arranged by Plough

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

Sounds like a GMIDI conversion played on an SB soundcard with orchestral SoundFonts. Not particularly interesting, especially since Slamball itself is a Bach cover…
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Parallax (4 A Leone Western Mix) - arranged by MistaDistah

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

Has a sort of metallic feel to it (metallic as in iron-like), but I can't say that it made a deep impression on me. At times I hear influences of Kraftwerk in it, most of the time it sounds industrial, some of the lead sounds very ambient - it's hard to figure out just where this remix goes. I don't like that - I like tunes with a clear direction. All in all, a commandable effort, but I've heard better ones.
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Last Ninja (Dschungelkämpfer jungle mix) - arranged by Timokl offline

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

The first minute or so is utter crap and has very little to do with The Last Ninja. Then it becomes just a bit better in the middle when that famous Last Ninja riff is floated on top of the jungle rhythms, but I still feel like I wasted my time listening to this remix…
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The Last Ninja - 2001 Mix - arranged by Glyn R Brown

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

A disturbing look at our beloved Last Ninja. At times the remix seems to describe the gruesome nature of the battles in gory detail, other times it becomes an almost religious experience. The different parts are connected by some wise guy's (literally!) generic comments (speech samples taken from some game maybe?). I don't think a garden salad is more mixed than this remix, but hey, we all need a healthy diet!
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Savage (Boom!Tsk!Fz!) - arranged by FeekZoid

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

A fantastic start, I don't think it can be done more perfectly than this! But while I don't always agree with FeekZoid's choices in the rest of his remix, I think a lot of people will enjoy this one. Certainly not your below-average boom-tsk remix, but certainly not the best one, either. But I am sure we'll all listen to it more than once, becuase it's hard to get it out of your head. The lead line is just as good as the opening seconds, and the tune in general shows a lot of creativity. But all those ideas just seem to fly out in all direction - there's no cohesiveness.
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Thanatos - arranged by DJ ThumpHeadAche

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

A superb dance-remix of Hubbard's (and Julian Breeze's classic tune, with just the right touch of ambience. I am usually not fond of this boom-tsk genre, but even I appreciate a great tune, and this is one of those. Good selection of instruments, too, esp. the great base guitar and the Jarre-ish sound effects that keep your ears busy all the time.
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Wizball Song 2 (Orchestral Bhangra Gumbo Remix) - arranged by MistaDistah

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

Sure, amongst the ambient-worldbeat-orchestral-SID-remixes this one is king, but that's becuase this is the only one in that category. :] It sounds like a remix that tries to fuse many different styles, but it's the typical case of trying to grab more than you can, with the rest flowing out thru your fingers. Ambitious attempt? Yep. The result being a somewhat boring fusion stuff? Sadly, yep.
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Wizball Song 2 (Orchestral Bouncy Remix) - arranged by MistaDistah

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

Great idea, not so good execution. I dunno why, but something is missing from it. It's like eating salt-less soup. You feel that it could've been something tasty, something big, but it isn't. A bit ambient with some breakbeat going on in the background, many orchestral hits - I guess, all the elements for a hit are there. It just wasn't mixed with the right proportions.
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Warhawk (Live on DR) - arranged by PRESS PLAY ON TAPE

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

I think the lead guitarist was a bit trigger-happy with the melody line at times, but hey, still pretty good!
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Ghosts'n'Goblins (Live on DR) - arranged by PRESS PLAY ON TAPE

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

I am starting to like PPOT's cover of Ghosts'n'Goblins more and more, even though I wasn't fond of it when I first heard it.
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Last Ninja - Palace Gardens - arranged by Glyn R Brown

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

A solid remake of this great tune, pretty much in the same style of how I'm sure all of us have imagined it, no surprises here. Better (or more extended) use of oriental instruments would've given it real authenticity, as Glyn is simply using orientalish synth sounds instead of say, a koto or shamisen. Yes, it sounds a bit too sterile this way. Well made, though, and one of the better covers of Palace Gardens, definitely (minus the constant background noise which might be the noise of a tape recorder or something .
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Gyruss - arranged by Fash offline

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

Keeping in pace with the frantic speed of the original tune (and game), this cover nevertheless is just about average. Dancey rhythm section overlayed with some dull, overused insturments from the 80's. Nice effort, but that's it.
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Warhawk (o2 mix) - arranged by o2

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

I have to admit, I never thought of Warhawk as an electronic ambient piece, and o2 has trouble covering it that way, too, because sometimes he resorts to some pretty sharp leads and arpeggios in the melody line. Yet again, we get a Jarre does from o2, as the bass line is definitely inspired by Jarre (think Magnetic Fields part 1 slowed down), not to mention the various effects here and there.
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Ocean Loader v2 - arranged by Marcus Hoffrén offline

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

This is the kind of remix that sits between a full remake of a SID tune and a DJ-whoever remix that is not much more than the original SID + drumloops. One can hear many pieces of the original SID in here, but it's all rearranged a bit with drums, pads, nice lushy synth sounds - with all the right material. It's not a bad remix at all, but somehow I don't think it's a terribly good one, either. Nicely done, but not better. A commandable effort, though, definitely one of the better Ocean Loader remixes out there.
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Ode to my C64 (Hammerfist) - arranged by Makke

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

This cover is pretty unique because it has lyrics! And I don't mean synthetized, over-vocoded voices, but a real human singing! It also has cameo appearances by the evil Atombender dude from Impossible Mission and the I-Ball guy. Not much I can comment about the lyrics itself, but I thought I mention that I'd recommend everybody to download this unique gem.
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Max Headroom (Orbital 3241 Elevator Mix) - arranged by DHS

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

This is one awesome remix! Actually, you get multiple remixes in one compact package, and they are not always similar to each other, either. I wish I had more time to analyze this remix, 'cause it would deserve it. My only gripe is that it's probably too long (what can I say - I am impatient today).
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Jinks - arranged by Sebasu offline

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

Some of the background sounds are out of tune. Minus 10 points for that (even though it was done on purpose, I assume). The rest of the remix is pretty decent, though. Plus 10 points for that. The best way I can describe this remix: Jinks does the Blair Witch Project. Scary, mystical, amateurish (which does *NOT* equal to crap in my dictionary!), rough at the edges.
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Cybernoid II - arranged by Tim Forsyth

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

Too many high frequencies in the drums destroy the rest of the cover. Take that loudness away from the drumtrack, and this is a pretty good Cybernoid cover, albeit a little thin at times (ie. not fat or ear-full enough, esp. the lead). I quite like Tim's use of the effects which replace Jeroen Tel's original SID effects rather than reuse them. It is obvious that a lot of work went into this very faithful cover. But please, rework those drums!
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Last Ninja 2 - The Sewers (loader) - arranged by Puffy64

Review by LaLa, 04/02/2003

It has a beautiful start (paradoxically, since we were supposed to be in the freakin' sewers , and continues very nicely in the same fashion. It's one of the more laid back tracks on this energetic album, and it has also become a favorite by me.
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